The third release in Jean-Claude Pennetier’s complete Fauré piano music cycle mixes and matches genres in performances that for the most part are intimate and understated. This certainly befits the music’s refined keyboard writing and boundless harmonic sleights-of-hand, especially in the substantial and difficult-to-sustain Nocturne No. 7. His slower-than-usual tempos for the eight Pieces brèves also help bring out the purely vocal qualities of the melodic lines. For example, the Improvisation takes on a ruminative, wistful quality that wouldn’t be out of place in a Michel Legrand movie theme, although Jean-Philippe Collard’s firmer pulse better conveys Fauré’s rhythmic scansion.
Likewise, Pennetier underplays the Fifth Barcarolle’s big chords, the Sixth Nocturne’s supple arpeggiated patterns, and Op. 73’s nimble third variation. By the same token, the pianist’s nuanced fingerwork maintains the Sixth Barcarolle’s shifting registers and textures in clear perspective so that you can always discern the melody and the accompaniment. While I prefer Fauré pianists like Collard, Jean Doyen, Kathryn Stott, and the incomparable Germain Thuyssens Valentin, who personalize this repertoire with more transparency and inner fire, Pennetier’s gentle presence holds more attention here than in this cycle’s previous two volumes. Not essential, but enjoyable.
